The Marin County Board of Supervisors is moving forward with a plan to limit parking in some areas around Stinson Beach.
At the behest of neighbors and emergency officials, the board on Thursday moved ahead with a plan they hope will keep the streets around the beach clear.
"The Fire Department have requested additional parking restrictions because of the limitations on being able to respond with some of the parking behaviors that have been occurring," Dan Dawson, Principal Transportation Planner at the Marin County Department of Public Works, said at the board meeting.
Residents said beachgoers parking cars unsafely has long been a problem in the area, but it really exploded last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We all noticed that the shutdown seemed to mean, 'Let's go to the beach,' " Mike Matthews, president of the Stinson Beach Village Association, said.
Matthews said he loves sharing his town with visitors, but he did once return home to find a random car parked in his driveway. Others parked on roads so narrow that emergency vehicles weren't able to squeeze by.
The supervisors’ move would need to be finalized by a vote next month to go into effect. Matthews said it was a good first step, but he’d like the supervisors to consider a shuttle or reservation system, like in Muir Woods.
"I think longer-term solutions need to be found," he said.
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